Passengers travelling with Aer Lingus in and out of Cork suffered only minimal disruption when 24 Siptu members working on the morning shift at the airport stopped work for 75 minutes.
Siptu official John Pearson said that the stoppage had been supported by all Siptu Aer Lingus staff working the morning shift. "It was very successful and it sent out a strong signal that we are not going to roll over on this issue," he said.
Only two flights were affected by yesterday's work stoppage by Siptu members at Shannon Airport.
Delays at check-in desks were experienced by passengers flying to London and Chicago at lunchtime yesterday. The Chicago flight, which was due to leave at 12.45pm, departed approximately one hour late, while the 12.55pm London flight managed to depart on time despite check-in delays.
Mary O'Donnell, Siptu's spokeswoman for Shannon, said that the workers were protesting to highlight the refusal by the management of Aer Lingus to discuss key issues such as job security and pensions at the Labour Court.
"All staff were back to work by eleven and they didn't leave passengers high and dry", said a spokeswoman for Shannon Airport Authority.